016 "The Horse’s Bones"

"...The attack of the Nine-Tails caused damage to multiple buildings in the village."
"Taking this opportunity to rebuild, we need to make some changes to the village’s layout."
At the long table, Danzo spoke with calm assurance, the picture of someone in full control.
Anyone perceptive could see that this so-called plan to reorganize the village’s districts had already been agreed upon with the Third Hokage and the other two advisors. This meeting was not so much a discussion as it was an announcement.
Danzo pointed to a rectangular area near the forests of the village on the map and said unhurriedly,
"The Aburame clan should relocate here. They’ve long expressed their need for a forested area to facilitate their training in secret techniques."
Beside Fugaku, Shibi Aburame, the clan head, nodded gently in assent.
"The Nara clan’s residences were undamaged and will remain as they are. The same goes for the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans."
"...The destroyed Police Force headquarters will be rebuilt here."
Fugaku’s expression darkened when he saw the spot Danzo indicated on the map.
It was a remote location, nearly abutting the village’s outer wall.
Danzo continued, "Moreover, to coordinate their duties, the Uchiha clan should relocate to the area surrounding the Police Force..."
This was nothing less than an attempt to expel the Uchiha from the village center.
Anger flared in Fugaku’s chest. He rose abruptly and spoke in protest, "Lord Danzo, the Uchiha are the Police Force responsible for maintaining the village’s peace. This location is far too remote. In an emergency, the force would be unable to respond in time."
His reasoning was sound, and the other clan heads nodded slightly in agreement.
Faced with Fugaku’s objection, Danzo lifted his head and gazed at him coolly, replying in a bland tone, "In an emergency, the ANBU will be deployed."
Fugaku’s expression shifted; he caught the implication.
Danzo was alluding to the Uchiha’s inaction during the Nine-Tails’ rampage.
But the Uchiha had acted on orders; the commands had come from the very people before him.
Fugaku turned toward the main seat.
The Third Hokage sat with his eyes half-closed, silent. The two advisors, however, spoke in turn:
"The Police Force often trains at the practice grounds, don’t they? This area is conveniently close to suitable land."
"Exactly, you can treat it as a training ground exclusively for the Uchiha."
Their reasoning was absurd, a logic akin to, "Since the Uchiha need to relieve themselves too, why not live by the latrines?"
But Fugaku caught the signal: the village leadership was determined to push the Uchiha out of Konoha’s core.
How could this be? How could it be allowed?
Unless... Fugaku’s gaze drifted instinctively to Orochimaru on the other side of the table, questioning and suspicious.

One couldn’t blame Fugaku for such thoughts. After all, nothing comes for free. To expect one of the "Legendary Sannin" to keep a secret without any cost was hard to believe.
Orochimaru sensed Fugaku’s searching gaze and shook his head slightly, returning a sinister smile.
The message was clear—"Little brother, it wasn’t me."
Fugaku believed him.
Not because he thought Orochimaru honest or incapable of deceit, but because if the village elders were truly convinced the Uchiha had caused the Nine-Tails’ disaster, then moving the clan to the village’s edge was too light a punishment.
If suspicion alone was the reason, then this move was too severe.
Fugaku’s gaze grew darker as a possibility occurred to him.
During the Second Hokage’s reign, the Uchiha were ordered to form the Police Force, charged with the village’s defense. It appeared powerful, but in truth, their status was akin to city inspectors.
Should they wish to participate in the external wars and thus improve their standing, clan members had to submit to the leadership’s authority.
Those close to the village leadership were promoted to ANBU, like Shisui’s faction; those who fell out of favor were pushed back to the Police Force.
Now, the same pattern was repeating itself.
Fugaku’s fists clenched, his expression darkening further.
It was natural for the Hokage faction to suppress the clans for the sake of the village—he had no quarrel with that.
But why was it only the Uchiha who faced such targeted treatment?
In the Second’s time, they had been relegated to a corner of the village, their power confined to the Police Force. Was the leadership now intent on stripping even that away?
But... what should be done now?
Fugaku swept his gaze over the others at the table; the other clan heads wore expressions of indifference.
He understood why.
After the Nine-Tails’ attack, the suspicion toward the Uchiha was merely a pretext. The Uchiha had emerged unscathed and kept all their strength, which now made them too conspicuous.
"So be it..."
Fugaku sighed inwardly. This time, the Uchiha were isolated, and further protest would be futile—only inviting further animosity.
He sat down again. Danzo glanced at him, then withdrew his gaze, a sly and satisfied look flickering in his eyes. He was about to proceed with the specifics of the Uchiha relocation when suddenly a burst of laughter echoed through the room.
Danzo turned, his face darkening.
It was Orochimaru. What was he plotting?
Orochimaru was truly delighted, and it showed.
This Konoha council session had been quite fruitful for him, not least because he had learned a forbidden jutsu, and much that had once been hidden was now laid bare.
Fugaku’s and the Uchiha’s quandary, Danzo’s eager suppression of the clan, the other clan heads’ hesitant detachment, the Third’s apparent indifference as he quietly controlled the scene...

"Orochimaru, remember where you are. Mind your behavior," Danzo barked.
Jiraiya tugged at Orochimaru’s sleeve, silencing him, though the smile never left his lips.
Fugaku did not understand where the leadership’s hostility originated, nor why the Uchiha were the target. He chalked it up to the age-old conflict between village and clan.
Orochimaru had once thought the same, but the Lamp God had offered him a fascinating perspective:
The Uchiha and the Hokage’s faction held fundamentally different views about the founding of Konoha.
To the Uchiha, Konoha was the product of the Senju and Uchiha clans laying down their arms and uniting to found the ninja village.
That, of course, was true—but only partly so, the part most beautiful to the Uchiha.
To the Hokage line, the essence of Konoha’s founding was the Senju’s victory over the Uchiha—the triumph of Hashirama over Madara.
The First Hokage, after vanquishing the Uchiha, did not exterminate them, but instead chose to embrace old enmities and build the village together.
This was fundamentally different from the endless cycles of clan slaughter and annexation that had typified the Warring States era. Konoha could lay aside old blood feuds and accept different clans.
After all, if Konoha could accommodate the Senju and Uchiha, whose blood feud was legendary, then no other clan’s enmity could surpass that.
Thus the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio, the Aburame, and other famed ninja clans of the Warring States era flocked to the village, enabling its growth.
In this, the First Hokage had surely shown the bearing of a king, while the Uchiha were merely the "horse’s bones" that proved the value of the stallion in the marketplace.
The best they could be was "the horse’s bones"—no more.
The Senju were different: after Konoha’s founding, they dissolved their clan. Even Hashirama’s granddaughter could abandon her surname. But could the Uchiha do the same?
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his smile growing ever more wanton.
The Second Hokage had established the Police Force to serve the village, turning the Uchiha into a "blade."
Now, that blade had become too dangerous, too hard for the old men to control, so they would exile it—and, should the crisis worsen, even consider destroying it.
But to him, this meant nothing.
Orochimaru mused that, were the Lamp God present, he would surely handle this situation with consummate skill, toying with them all.
Still, Orochimaru had his own methods.
Recalling the intelligence he’d received earlier, he smiled wickedly and said, "Lord Danzo, by pushing the Uchiha to the village’s edge, are you affirming their suspected involvement in the Nine-Tails’ attack?"
The words landed like thunder.
In the meeting room, among the village elders and clan heads, not a single face remained unchanged.